The critical importance of testing and certification

The importance of the critical communications sector is not matched by its size — compared to the consumer mobile communications market it is tiny. However, it is a sector crucial to the safeguarding of people, property and critical infrastructure, and essential to the support of first responders. Therefore, cooperation between vendors is vital to achieve interoperability and ensure a wider accessible market for operators of mission-critical networks and users of mission-critical products and services.

The Critical Communications Association (TCCA) led the way in achieving TETRA market success through its leading Interoperability Testing and Certification process (IOP), which enables a truly open multi-vendor market for TETRA equipment and systems. This multi-vendor market gives concrete benefits both to the users in terms of a wide portfolio of compatible equipment, competitive pricing and rapid development of new product models; and to the industry in terms of faster market take-up and better possibilities for investment in new development.

TCCA’s IOP process has been in place since 1999 and test sessions continue to be run on a regular basis, overseen by an independent certification body. Test sessions are performed on commercial products according to interoperability profile specifications and test plans. These are generated by TCCA’s Technical Forum and its working groups as an agreed interpretation of the ETSI TETRA standards and are representative of actual operational conditions and users’ needs.

For the established and future TETRA market, a robust process is already in place. With the advent of critical broadband, however, new programs are being developed to ensure that critical broadband products and services are also thoroughly tested and certified to ensure market strength and user confidence.

Supporting the ETSI MCX Plugtests

TCCA has been a key supporter of the ETSI MCX Plugtests since the first mission-critical communications Plugtests took place in 2017 — the first independent testing of public safety and other mission-critical LTE services initially over 4G networks. This was purely for Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT). Since then the events have evolved to include Mission Critical Data (MCData) and Mission Critical Video (MCVideo), which together with MCPTT are collectively known as Mission Critical Services (MCX). The concept of MCX started with 3GPP Release 13 and is ongoing in current 3GPP Releases.

ETSI’s Plugtests events serve two main purposes — they provide essential feedback to ETSI technical committees and 3GPP to help improve technology standards and to accelerate the standards-making process, and they enable engineers to get together to test the interoperability of their implementations. This can reduce a product’s time to market. Participation is open to all organisations — whether or not they are ETSI or 3GPP members. Most attendees are vendors or equipment manufacturers; observers are allowed to watch the testing. Plugtests provide a neutral testing environment and activities are covered by a non-disclosure agreement. Implementations tested range from prototypes to commercial products — the only limitation is that they implement the relevant standard(s).

The seventh MCX Plugtests took place in November 2022, with the goal of validating the interoperability of a variety of implementations using different scenarios based on 3GPP MCX in Release 17. The testing over 4G networks was extended to include initial testing over a 5G test network. Specific focus was put to intersystem communications including IWF (Interworking Function to other technologies like TETRA or P25) and inter-MCX scenarios. The tests are based on 3GPP standards.

This Plugtests event also tested Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) capabilities such as Functional Aliases, Multi-talker, User and Group Regrouping, MCData IP Connectivity and complex emergency call handling.

More than 1200 test cases were executed between vendors, based on 3GPP Release 17, and the seventh ETSI MCX Plugtests concluded with a success rate of 96% of the executed tests in the validation of 3GPP mission-critical services vendor interoperability. More than 150 delegates participated. The eighth MCX Plugtests are scheduled for 9–13 October 2023 in Malaga, Spain.

GCF and TCCA lead the way to certify 3GPP MCX broadband products

Mission-critical services and critical communications play an important role in keeping societies safe. These services must be functional, reliable and resilient, and as such must simply work without failure, every time.

This implies devices and networks must be interoperable and fit for purpose. With this goal in mind, the Global Certification Forum (GCF) and TCCA have been working together over the past few years to deliver a certification program for 3GPP standards-based mission-critical services. The program will ensure that devices and applications are interoperable with mission-critical networks and are compliant with the relevant standards and specifications.

The next generation of mission-critical services will be delivered over networks that are based on mission-critical LTE evolving towards 5G. GCF and TCCA are working to include relevant industry players in the discussion about this new landscape and its certification programs.

To achieve this, TCCA and GCF have created the Mission Critical Services Work Stream (MCSWS), open to all TCCA and GCF members, and invited experts from industry. The workstream is tasked with the development of a certification program, with launch targeted for 2023. The current scope of the certification focuses on MCX, and will include both conformance and field trials testing.

How can agencies and companies engage and support this process?

Mission-critical operators and authorities are invited to join the MCSWS to help develop standards-driven mission-critical services, and to share their requirements regarding MCX products. They can also contribute to the technical development of the certification scheme, consider having field trials performed in their networks, and help grow the certification scheme by requesting GCF certification for devices or clients in tenders.

Mission-critical product suppliers are also invited to join the MCSWS. Device manufacturers and client vendors can work together in the scope of the GCF certification program to ensure interoperability on key functionalities, and also to support test platform validation activities in GCF with devices and clients implementing the latest specifications.

By working together, the mission-critical industry can help build a certification program that benefits all stakeholders and ensures the seamless interoperability of mission-critical devices and networks.

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